Dell POWEREDGE M1000E - Manual (Page 179)

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Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3130 and 3032 for Dell Software Configuration Guide
OL-13270-03
Chapter 7 Administering the Switch
Managing the System Time and Date
Figure 7-1 shows a typical network example using NTP. Switch A is the NTP master, with the Switch E,
Switch B, and Switch C configured in NTP server mode, in server association with Switch A. Switch D
is configured as an NTP peer to the upstream and downstream switches, Switch E and the blade switch,
respectively.
Figure 7-1 Typical NTP Network Configuration
If the network is isolated from the Internet, Cisco’s implementation of NTP allows a device to act as if
it is synchronized through NTP, when in fact it has learned the time by using other means. Other devices
then synchronize to that device through NTP.
When multiple sources of time are available, NTP is always considered to be more authoritative. NTP
time overrides the time set by any other method.
Several manufacturers include NTP software for their host systems, and a publicly available version for
systems running UNIX and its various derivatives is also available. This software allows host systems
to be time-synchronized as well.
Configuring NTP
The switch does not have a hardware-supported clock and cannot function as an NTP master clock to
which peers synchronize themselves when an external NTP source is not available. The switch also has
no hardware support for a calendar. As a result, the ntp update-calendar and the ntp master global
configuration commands are not available.
Switch E
Switch A
Workstations
Blade
servers
201758
Workstations
Blade
switch
Switch D
Switch B Switch C